Blog

Tuesday

Well, I started to write this yesterday, but got sidetracked by a virtually impromptu wedding – my sister-in-law got married quietly and casually last night after much drama. I had a horrible headache all day yesterday, my Jeep’s been in repairs for 4 weeks (when I get it back, it’ll be coming with a $2,400 bill; does it come with a whole new Jeep?), and I was pissed off when I heard about Ryan Reynolds’ engagement to the Sexiest Woman on Earth, Scarlett Johansson. But that was on Monday.

This is Tuesday:

Dean Baker is arguing that the real issues facing American healthcare involve the actual costs of healthcare rather than an aging population or anything else. I’m open to persuasion.

Minette Marrin has written a fantastic critique of the BBC; read it if you’re British and hate being forced to pay the licence fee, or even if you simply value freedom to choose what you pay for. It’s not without mistake, though, and later this week I’d like to respond to Marrin on the issue (for our own articles on the BBC and ‘public service broadcasting’, click here).

Roger Vincent reports that some people are worried about the commercial building boom in Hollywood, involving tons of shopping space, new malls, restaurants and nightspots. The last time I was in Hollywood a bum tried to piss on me, so I’d say the boom is to be welcomed. (I won’t be there again until July, when I’ll be at the Kodak Theater for an HBO taping with Ricky Gervais. I’ll give a full review.)

Gary Marcus mentions an old study conducted at Stanford University in which psychologist Walter Mischel “…offered preschoolers a choice: a marshmallow now, or two marshmallows if they could wait until he returned. And then, cruelly, he left them alone with nothing more than themselves, the single marshmallow, a hidden camera and no indication of when he would return.” Some gobbled, some waited, proving that at least half of us do things that run contrary to our own best interest without good reason. This reminds me of what it’s been like for the past year and a half waiting for the 2nd generation iPhone that looks likely to be released next month, all the while being tempted by the single-marshmallow version currently on sale. (I’m all geek at the core.)

Sam Jones & Paul Lewis report on some investigative journalism about the question of whether or not the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest was rigged by Franco, denying Cliff Richard the win he deserved. Hilarious!

William Crawley is asking if people should be allowed to buy and sell organs. Both Stephen and myself have written about this issue, our answer being a clear ‘Yes’ (of course). See the discussion here.

We have more elections today too, this time in the states of Indiana and North Carolina. Without a victory, it looks like Hillary will be hurting, possibly enough to withdraw her candidacy. It looks more and more like America may get its first black president.